Words Lost In The Snow
by EmeraldNorth
Summary: When he saw her, he forgot all about the cold. He only realized too late that her heart already belonged to somebody else. [Two-shot; Semi-AU; One-sided KiraHina; HitsuHina]
1. 1

He didn't think anything special would happen. It was a normal day, a normal assignment, a normal team of shinigamis. All Izuru Kira had to do was patrol the Junrinan area and make sure they're weren't any hollows around. Everything was normal, until he saw her.

* * *

The cold winter wind bit his exposed face, making a blonde man curse silently, snow falling steadily around him. A thick, white blanket covered the Seireitei and the districts surrounding it. Amongst the glaring white snow stood five figures in black. Lieutenant Kira of the third division was to lead a small team of shinigamis to patrol the first district. It wasn't that he didn't like patrolling, it was rather that he didn't like the cold winter. It was rather funny, actually. The first time it snowed was about fifty years ago, back when Kira was still at the academy. It had been considered a miracle, a gift from the soul god. And this gift had a name.

Toshiro Hitsugaya.

The white-haired prodigy entered the school two years later than him, leaving behind his family at a relatively young age, but still ended up graduating much earlier then him. Back then he envied Hitsugaya for his talent, and for the way he acted as if it was nothing special. Sure, Izuru was pretty talented at Kido, but he really sucked at swordsmanship. But the prodigy was, well, a prodigy. One miracle after another, he did the impossible. He brought winter to Soul Society. It happened within his entrance year, when he heard the name of his Zanpakutou. _Hyourinmaru._ The strongest Ice and Water type Zanpakutou in their world. Strong enough to make it snow continuously over the large area of the Seireitei without him breaking a sweat in it's Shikai form. Izuru didn't even want to think about what Bankai could do...

After graduating Hitsugaya went on to become the third seat of the tenth division. Izuru landed in the fifth division as the eighteenth seat. For whatever reason his friend Renji was sent on a weird division-hopping tour which lead from fifth to eleventh to sixth division. Soon enough Izuru was also assigned to another division, namely division three. Around this time Captain Shiba had died in the human world and Hitsugaya had stepped up to take his place. Other shinigami often made fun of him because of his young appearance or his height, but he coldly brushed all of them off and fulfilled all his duties. Tenth division was working flawlessly under Captain Hitsugaya, and once again Izuru couldn't help but feel jealous.

At some point the Captain Commander had given the prodigy the task to make it snow from December to February. That's why every year around Christmas time the Seireitei would be covered in snow.

* * *

Izuru dug his face further into his scarf and put on a second pair of gloves. The only way to get the lovely snow was to accept the harsh cold temperatures. His fellow shinigami proceeded to do similar things in order to keep themselves warm. They headed out and walked through the town area. Here and there some souls would greet the shinigamis with a short bow or an acknowledging nod. The vendors offered them special deals and little children looked at them full of awe. Izuru couldn't help but smile at the scene. It was truly beautiful to see the children play in the snow, and for a short moment, he started taking a liking to the white-haired captain.

"KIRAAAAAAA!" Izuru turned around only to be greeted by a busty strawberry-blonde woman. She wasn't wearing any extra layers of clothing, but she also didn't seem to be freezing. She was holding a fresh watermelon in her arms. This was another thing Izuru didn't like about Hitsugaya. He had Rangiku Matsumoto, one of the most beautiful women in Soul Society, as his lieutenant. She was probably already used to his reiatsu, which would explain why she wasn't feeling cold. However…

"Why are you holding a watermelon?" The busty woman looked down at the fruit as if she had forgotten she had been holding it this entire time. She just laughed and revealed her plan, which was pretty doomed to fail anyway…

"You see, since Captain won't drink with me, I decided to take this watermelon, his favourite fruit, and lace it with sake. My plan is foolproof!" She continued giggling and said something about picking up something else for her captain.

* * *

Izuru gathered his men as they headed towards the outskirts of the town. Travelling trough the forest they contently noted that there was no hollow activity. Instead of that all the shinigamis had started sniffling, dripping noses bright red with flushed cheeks. To their dismay they also realized that they had somehow gotten lost. Izuru lead his men up to a hill in the hopes of seeing a path that leads back to the Seireitei. But when he got there, he saw _her_.

Dark brown hair pulled into two low, long twintails that contrasted the soft snowflakes which got caught among her mane, pale porcelain skin, slightly flushed from the cold air, a light pink yukata with cherry blossoms along the bottom hem. It was truly a wondrous sight. Her robes fluttered in the wind while she reached up to pick a peach from a tree. It was only after he examined the girl that he saw the rows of peach trees. It was unnatural for fruit to grow under these circumstances, yet the peaches looked bright orange-pink and fully round. The brunette collected them in a basket to her feet. After she had filled the basket she noticed the shinigamis standing around and offered her assistance.

* * *

The girl, who had introduced herself as Momo Hinamori, suggested that the frozen men come to her place to warm up before returning to the Seireitei. Izuru, still stunned by her beauty, couldn't find it in himself to deny her request. His men also didn't object being taken care of by a cute girl so they followed her to a cosy house a bit outside of the town. Inside they had gotten towels and Momo's grandmother had prepared some tea. After a short while Momo entered the room with a bowl of freshly cut peaches.

Izuru couldn't help but wonder who this girl was. The peaches were ripe and sweet even though they were out in the freezing cold just a few hours ago. She only wore that yukata and, just like Matsumoto, didn't seem to be affected by the weather.

"Excuse me, Miss Hinamori, but how come these peaches were able to grow in the harsh cold outside?" The girl smiled before giving him her answer. "Well, because Shiro made sure that our plants and crops still grow so that w-" Momo never came around to finishing her sentence because she was interrupted by an all-too familiar voice.

"Momo! I'm here!" Izuru turned towards the source of the voice only to find the tenth division lieutenant, still holding the watermelon, but this time with two additional bags, probably filled with sake. The looks of surprise either held on their face rivaled each others. Izuru's patrol members were focused on Matsumoto being there rather than _why_ she was there.

"Rangiku! You're just on time!" Momo disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a handful of fresh peaches in a bag and a light blue envelope.

"Please give these to Shiro." Izuru noticed the smile on her face when she said 'Shiro'. It was full of care and somewhere deep down, he wished she would say his own name like that. He started thinking about who this 'Shiro' guy could be. Was he tall, short, intelligent, dumb? He was probably some kind of farmer if he could pull off that thing with the peaches, maybe even a latent shinigami.

"Awww, captain's going to be so happy to get a love letter from his beloved Momo!" The brunette started blushing furiously before stammering out "I-It's not l-like that, Rangiku, we're just friends!"

Then it hit him. 'Shiro' was short for 'Toshiro'.

The two girl's continued bickering in the background while Izuru realized something else. Even though he hadn't been looking for one, he now had a reason to hate Hitsugaya. And this reason was Momo Hinamori. If the stoic, serious Captain Hitsugaya was willing to spare her plants and crops from his powers as well as send his lieutenant out to pick things up from her, the two of them had to have some kind of history. He looked back up only to find the brunette's face beet red with a teasing Matsumoto standing in front of her.

"Mou, don't say things like that about my Shiro!"

In that moment, all the hopes he had for a future with Momo disappeared in one blow. His heart shattered like frozen rock. He now knew that no matter how hard he tried, no matter how loud he shouted, no matter what he did, his actions would be swallowed in a blizzard and his words would be lost in the snow.

All because he wasn't Toshiro Hitsugaya.

* * *

 **AN: Just to clarify, this is an AU where Momo is not a soul reaper. I'm thinking about making this a two-shot, but I'm not sure if I should... Let me know what you think. Hope you enjoy :D**

 **I don't own Bleach.**

 **~Emi**


	2. 2

_Does love at first sight exist?_

* * *

Once spring came around, Izuru found himself extremely relieved that winter was over. After the encounter with the brunette in Junrinan he couldn't even look at the snow, or anything white for that matter, without feeling sick to his stomach. He avoided tenth division as much as possible and every time he did have to deal with the white haired prodigy and his bubbly lieutenant he always had to bite his own tongue in order not to completely lose it. Especially when he was cold and harsh on the newcomers, that really made the third division lieutenant's blood boil. Whenever Toshiro Hitsugaya came up in conversation he always tried to change the subject, seemingly failing most of the time. People only had praise for the young captain, and he left the best impressions on the ones who mattered. And Izuru hated all of it.

* * *

 _Can you truly love somebody without knowing the slightest thing about them?_

* * *

There was one time he had to bring a stack of papers to Captain Hitsugaya, reluctantly doing so, he walked across the Seireitei and entered Tenth Division. Just as he had managed to balance the paperwork on one hand and had raised the other to knock, the door slid open full force and he was greeted by a joyous bundle of strawberry blonde.

"Kira-kun! What brings you here?"

The blonde man was so startled by the sudden opening of the door that he nearly dropped all of his papers, holding on to them in the last moment.

"Matsumoto-san, you almost gave me a heart attack! I came here to bring your captain some documents for signing…" He looked past her flowy hair to the captain's desk, only to find it empty.

"Talking about that, where is Captain Hitsugaya?" His confusion became apparent in his voice, his eyebrows furrowing. Lieutenant Matsumoto glanced over her shoulder and turned back to him with a bright smile.

"Just put the papers on my desk, I'll take care of them." Izuru raised his eyebrows in question at her sudden will to work, usually she just pushes her work on her captain, so what was different this time?

True enough, the stack on her desk was minimal, and it really looked like she had been busy working all day. He placed the stack next to the one already there and raised his hand to feel Matsumoto's forehead. The voluptuous woman had sat down behind the desk and had already taken the first sheet of paper.

"Matsumoto-san… Are you feeling alright?" Worry laced his voice, this was just too out of character for her. Maybe he should get Captain Ichimaru to help him…

"I'm feeling fantastic! I've never been this happy before! I just can't wait to finish all of this paperwork!" She enthusiastically signed document after document, a wide, mischievous grin on her face.

"I'll tell you where my captain is after I'm done here. In fact, I'll even show you! So stay right there while I'm working, okay?" He just nodded dumb fondly and sat down on the conveniently placed couch in the office. He failed to notice the bowl of fresh peaches sitting on Captain Hitsugaya's desk.

* * *

 _If that is all it takes to love somebody, can you really call it love?_

* * *

"Oi, Kira! Wake up, I'm done!" he was shaken out of his blissful nap by a way too cheerful voice. Opening his eyes slowly, his vision still slightly blurry, he registered the orange hue of Matsumoto's hair. After sitting up he was met with a very … questionable sight.

Matsumoto was standing in front of him, hands stemmed on her hips, a camera slung around her neck, green and brown streaks across her cheeks and leaves and branches in her hair.

"Matsumoto-san… why are you dressed like that? Aren't people going to think that you're being really weird?"

Her grin grew further and she started laughing loudly. "Silly, they'll think you're just as weird as I am!" She held out a mirror that showed Izuru that she had dressed him up in a similar fashion while he was sleeping. He let out a deep sigh and stood up from the couch. "So… where are we going?"

"I told you just now, I'm going to show you where my captain is."

Curiosity got the better of him. Just what was Captain Hitsugaya doing that got Matsumoto so excited and made them dress up like this?

They snuck around tenth division and out into the Seireitei. They went past ninth division, eighth division, seventh division and entered … sixth division? Why would the white haired captain be here? He continued following his fellow lieutenant as she silently opened the gate to Captain Kuchiki's precious garden.

"Matsumoto-san, are you sure we're allow-" He was interrupted by a hand shooting out and clamping over his mouth. She raised a finger to her lips and signalled him to be quiet before pointing over to one of the cherry trees.

There stood Captain Hitsugaya, deep in thought, his arms crossed. Even though he was so short, he still had a menacing aura to him. He looked up to the tree as a rush of wind passed by and held out his hand to catch a few flying petals in his hand. He stared at them with a scrutinizing look in his eye and just as another blow of wind was about to blow them away another hand enclosed his, slender pale fingers holding the cherry blossom petals down.

* * *

 _What are you willing to sacrifice for this kind of "love"?_

* * *

Izuru's gaze searched for the source of the additional hand and his breath stopped momentarily when he found it. It was Momo Hinamori. Her hair had been cropped to shoulder length, giving her more of a mature look. She was slightly taller than the white haired prodigy, flashing him a blinding smile.

"Why don't you make a wish, Shiro-chan?" The shorter male playfully narrowed his eyes at her and let out a small smile of his own.

"Baka."

It was just one word, but that was all they needed.

* * *

 _True or not. It still hurts._

* * *

Izuru felt out of place, and his stomach started churning in a bad way. He couldn't take it much longer, watching them act so …intimate… with each other. Just as he was about to excuse himself and leave he heard…

*click*

Matsumoto had started taking pictures of the two childhood friends under the cherry tree with an eager look on her face. Once she saw Izuru looking over to her she whispered something barely audible.

"One day, they're going to thank me. One day."

* * *

 _And it always will._

* * *

He said he still needed to do something and left a still overjoyed strawberry blonde behind.

* * *

The next time he saw Momo Hinamori was after group of Shinigami, including Captain Hitsugaya, had returned from a mission in the World of the Living. All had sustained many injuries and were immediately brought to Division Four. He, as a former member of said division, was helping out since they were all too busy.

* * *

 _Even if you know it's hopeless…_

* * *

The brunette was clearly nervous as she stood in the hallways of the division building. He went towards her, wondering why she was here in the first place. She looked up to him and a slight smile came to her face.

* * *

 _...you will grasp every single shred of hope you can get._

* * *

"Lieutenant Kira." She bowed slightly and he felt his heart flutter slightly at the sound of her voice. But she wasn't her cheerful self, in the contrary, she seemed quite upset.

"Miss Hinamori. Can I help you?" He may have sounded a bit too enthusiastic, but it was too late to change that now.

She looked back to the ground. "I was hoping I could see Shi- Captain Hitsugaya. I heard he was amongst the injured…" She trailed off, looking to the side.

* * *

 _Even if every time you start climbing up that rope,…_

* * *

His heart clenched at that and he forced himself to smile.

"Sure, I'll take you to his assigned room."

Her eyes shot up with a hopeful look embedded in them.

"Really?"

He nodded again, wishing the smile on her face was directed at him.

* * *

… _it snaps and you land on the cold, harsh ground._

* * *

She followed him and once he opened the door she bowed to thank him before storming into the room and wrapping her arms around the white haired captain's neck. Taken by surprise he slowly returned her embrace, running his hand through her hair as she sobbed into his chest as she scolded him for making her worry.

He stayed for another five minutes, watching the brunette calm down and return to the version he had met in that cold winter mere years ago.

He left silently, quickly wiping away the lone tear that had trailed down his cheek.

* * *

 _You can't bring yourself to give up just yet…_

* * *

The Headcaptain had sent him and a few others on a five year mission in the World of the Living. He saw it as an opportunity to clear his head, but every brunette girl there would always remind him of what he never had.

Once the five years had passed and it was time for him to return to Soul Society he hadn't expected Lieutenant Matsumoto to be waiting there for him. She escorted him back to third division, chatting with Captain Ichimaru for a bit before dragging Izuru to some good ol' 'Welcome back drinking'.

Just as he was downing his fourth cup of sake a loud squeal erupted from the strawberry blonde next to him. Many cheers followed from the outside of the bar. A confused Izuru followed the source of the sound and turned to look what was going on outside.

* * *

… _because if you could give up that easily,…_

* * *

He almost choked on his sake as he started to feel like throwing up.

Outside of the bar, in the middle of the street, a girl with shoulder length brown hair was kissing a now slightly taller male with white hair.

He felt the wet streaks on his cheeks, noticing that he wasn't the only one crying. Matsumoto sniffled into her sleeve with a happy look on her face before muttering something he wished he hadn't heard.

"Brown haired babies with blue eyes."

* * *

… _could you still call it "love"?_

* * *

 **AN: So, here's part two :) I would like to thank those who wanted it, and I'm really happy about every review I get! Please let me know your thoughts on this continuation :)**

 **~Emi**


End file.
